Could it be that no one connected with this movie has actually read Richard Matheson's novel?
The undeniable technical sophistication of this misfire is completely undermined by its frequent descents into action movie cliches (as in "The Omega Man") and a total dismissal of Matheson's ideas: the infected are not just a bunch of random zombies, they are Neville's frienRAB and neighbours, they are self-aware and functional, genuinely believing themselves to be undead and that the definition of a monster is dependent on context and point of view.
Will Smith does very well but the script requires his character to behave like a total dumbass so often that it's just plain irritating: why does he hunt deer by driving through them like a lunatic? He's a soldier but is a worse shot than a Death Star Stormtrooper, he can't drive at any speed less than Mach 3 and stays in a dangerous city instead of legging it to the countryside which appears to be deserted.
The ludicrously predictable ending is the exact opposite of the novel: Neville fails to realise that a world exists which no longer has a place for him and that his trigger-happy lifestyle has been his undoing.
This is not complicated stuff and for what these guys get paid, they might've found some way of incorporating it.
As it stanRAB "The Last Man on Earth", although far from perfect, is still the best version of the story.
The undeniable technical sophistication of this misfire is completely undermined by its frequent descents into action movie cliches (as in "The Omega Man") and a total dismissal of Matheson's ideas: the infected are not just a bunch of random zombies, they are Neville's frienRAB and neighbours, they are self-aware and functional, genuinely believing themselves to be undead and that the definition of a monster is dependent on context and point of view.
Will Smith does very well but the script requires his character to behave like a total dumbass so often that it's just plain irritating: why does he hunt deer by driving through them like a lunatic? He's a soldier but is a worse shot than a Death Star Stormtrooper, he can't drive at any speed less than Mach 3 and stays in a dangerous city instead of legging it to the countryside which appears to be deserted.
The ludicrously predictable ending is the exact opposite of the novel: Neville fails to realise that a world exists which no longer has a place for him and that his trigger-happy lifestyle has been his undoing.
This is not complicated stuff and for what these guys get paid, they might've found some way of incorporating it.
As it stanRAB "The Last Man on Earth", although far from perfect, is still the best version of the story.
